‘Big Brother’ Producers On the ‘Survivor’ Crossover Nobody Saw Coming

After more than two decades of betrayals, showmances and endless conniving, it’s not easy to surprise fans of “Big Brother.”

However, the reality competition’s producers pulled that off in Season 28 with the big reveal that “Survivor” castaways Rick Devens and Dee Valladare were being thrown into the mix.

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The Producers of ‘Big Brother’ Spill All the Tea

Making that surprising “Survivor”-“Big Brother” crossover happen, however. took some doing.

“Big Brother” producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan spoke with Entertainment Weekly about bringing the castaways into Season 28, and dropped some details about how it all came together.

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How the Idea Came Together

As Grodner told EW, “Big Brother” and “Survivor” are very different competitions, but some of the same elements apply.

“Certainly, it’s amazing to be able to bring people from another huge CBS show and to see how they play the ‘Big Brother’ game from a ‘Survivor’ game,” said Grodner.

“We knew we were gonna bring back people this season,” added Meehan. “And then as we were getting in the discussions of who we should bring back and why we should bring them back, ‘Survivor 50’ was airing as we were simultaneously having those conversations. And it was such a great season. And we’re like, ‘Hey, who would be some Survivor people that might be great in the Big Brother house?'”

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‘Big Brother’ Welcomes ‘Two Amazing Players

When viewering the 50th season of “Survivor,” both Devens and Valladare stood out to Meehan.

“And obviously Devens and Dee are two amazing players — a little different, but both amazing and fun to watch,” he said. “And we’re like, ‘They could really mix it up in the “Big Brother” house.’ So it was kind of: We know we’re bringing people back. What is the right mix of people to bring back, simultaneously with ‘Survivor’ airing?”

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Producers ‘Really Like Them As Players’

After seeing what the two brought to “Survivor” as castaways, Meehan became convinced they could also bring it as houseguests.

“We just really liked them as players,” he continued. “So as we were kind of looking at, whether it’s a ‘Big Brother’ player or a ‘Survivor’ player or another player: Who would play the game really well? We just really liked them. And we thought, not only are they interesting players and really talented players and bring different skill sets to their level of gameplay, but they’re also really memorable and would be great to try to maybe pull in some new viewers for ‘Big Brother.’ Because they both have great followings and are well thought of as game players.”

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Rick Devens Is a ‘Mischief Maker’

According to Grodner, Devens stood out to her for a number of reasons. “He’s a good example of that someone who just really pops and stands out and is fun to watch. He’s a strategist and he’s creative. And so if we’re looking for someone to stir things up, do some things unexpected, it felt like he was a really good fit to try him on ‘Big Brother.’ And we were just thrilled when he agreed and wanted to do it,” she said.

“Look, he’s a mischief maker, right?” added Meehan. “He’s so fun and he’s so creative in how he chooses to play games. So we’re like: ‘That could be really interesting to see what he does within our game and our rules. What can he do that maybe we’ve never seen before?’ We’ve been on the air a lot of years. If we get surprised or there’s something new that happens, to us, that’s always a great successful season. Because when you’re this far down the road, anytime something new and unique happens, we’re like, ‘Yes, that’s awesome!’ He could be a guy that could do that.”

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Dee Valladare Is ‘Hyper Competitive’

When looking at Valladare’s gameplay, Grodner “thought she was a really good choice in that she’s clearly an amazing competitor and a strategist. And she brings a level of cutthroatness, which is interesting.”

Meehan found her to be “hyper competitive,” someone who “wants to win at all costs, is obviously great at challenges. But she has this kind of no-nonsense attitude. She’s in it to win it. And that’s what we look for when we bring people back.”